Chapter 553: Rumors from the Outside World

In the dungeons of the Vermilion Bird Tribe, Lin Ruowei, Han Luo, and the others were all imprisoned, their bodies bound by thick iron chains.

This was, of course, Ye Chen’s doing.

Lin Ruowei had tormented Lin Qiyun endlessly, so Ye Chen had no intention of being merciful.

However, he didn’t intend to kill Lin Ruowei.

Instead, he was leaving her for Lin Qiyun to handle.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered killing her.

But for the main culprit, letting Lin Qiyun execute her personally would undoubtedly be the most gratifying outcome.

Inside the cell, the sound of dripping water echoed. DRIP. DRIP. DRIP. Lin Ruowei huddled in a corner, her hair a mess and her face black with grime.

Lin Qiyun stood outside the cell door, gazing silently at Lin Ruowei.

“Look at you now, so high and mighty.”

Lin Ruowei stared into the empty air, her eyes hollow and lifeless. “With a husband like that,” she said weakly, “who could possibly take the Clan Leader position from you?”

“Ruowei, I don’t understand. Why couldn’t we have just lived in harmony?” Lin Qiyun voiced the question that had been weighing on her heart.

“What’s the point of asking? Stop with the fake sincerity. I know you want to kill me, don’t you?”

Lin Ruowei didn’t answer Lin Qiyun. Instead, she said flatly, “Since you already intend to kill me, why not just get it over with? Delays only breed trouble.”

“I’m not going to kill you.”

Lin Qiyun’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t bring myself to harm my own sister!”

“…” Lin Ruowei fell silent.

Just then, Ye Chen’s voice came from the side.

“Very well.”

“Let her spend the rest of her life in this dungeon.”

“For an ambitious woman like her, such a fate is worse than death. It’s enough to drive her insane.”

Ye Chen slowly emerged from the side, his expression cold as he glanced at Lin Ruowei.

He had already guessed that Lin Qiyun was too soft-hearted to kill Lin Ruowei.

But in Lin Ruowei’s current predicament, living was merely a form of prolonged torture. It wasn’t necessarily any better than death.

“Hmph!”

A flicker of life finally returned to Lin Ruowei’s eyes.

She looked at Ye Chen, her heart a whirlwind of complicated emotions.

“If I had known your background from the start, how could I have ended up like this!”

She said in a low voice, “If I had betrothed myself to you instead, what would things be like today?”

She seemed to be sighing with emotion, and also with regret.

Lin Qiyun’s slender hand trembled as she looked at Lin Ruowei in disbelief.

She never imagined that Lin Ruowei would be thinking about such a thing at a time like this.

“An ambitious woman like you could never care for me as meticulously as Miss Qiyun does every day.”

“Therefore, the possibility you’re imagining was never destined to become a reality.”

Ye Chen said calmly.

“Perhaps… you’re right…” The light in Lin Ruowei’s eyes faded completely.

…

Aside from Lin Ruowei, the Elders who had helped her act like a tyrant and relentlessly pressured Lin Qiyun also received their due punishment.

After leaving the dungeons, Ye Chen took a moment to personally guide Lin Qiyun on some of the finer points of her cultivation. He then departed alone, making his way to the entrance of the Vermilion Bird Tribe.

A figure was already waiting for him there.

It was none other than the Second Elder of the Huo family, Huo Wuji!

“Young friend Ye Chen, I still can’t believe I’m actually seeing you here!”

Seeing that no one else was around, Huo Wuji let out a sigh.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. “And what do you mean by that?”

“You might not know, young friend.” Huo Wuji gave Ye Chen a complicated look. “To the Cultivators of the outside world, you died long ago in Dongxuan Province.”

Hearing this, Ye Chen’s expression tensed.

Through their conversation, Ye Chen learned that the storm he had caused at the Peach Blossom Banquet in Dongxuan Province had long ago shaken the entire Great Hong Dynasty.

The news had even reached the Cultivation Realm beyond the Great Hong Dynasty!

Everyone knew the story: a monstrously talented youth had taken first place at the Peach Blossom Banquet and single-handedly confronted the major powers of Dongxuan Province. But in the end, he had alerted some unknown entity of terrifying origins, was brutally suppressed, and was finally devoured by spatial turbulence, leaving not even a trace behind.

This was the rumor circulating in the outside world.

However, it seemed the news of Fairy Luoxia’s appearance at the Peach Blossom Banquet had not gotten out.

This was likely because the sect behind Fairy Luoxia was far too powerful, so the various major powers had strictly forbidden their cultivators from revealing her identity.

And so, that was the version of the story that spread.

Regardless, on the surface, there was nothing majorly wrong with the rumor.

Ye Chen had indeed been suppressed by Fairy Luoxia and knocked into spatial turbulence.

He had just been lucky enough to survive!

“Young friend, do you have any idea how shocked I was when I saw you!”

Huo Wuji said with a wry smile, “If I hadn’t been so disbelieving of your identity, I would have stepped in long ago and stopped that brat from the Profound Wind Pavilion.”

“It’s fine.”

Ye Chen waved his hand. “Just being able to reunite with the Huo family here is already a joyous occasion.”

“Speaking of which, young friend, although you didn’t perish, your cultivation…”

Huo Wuji’s gaze flickered as he sized up Ye Chen, a look of astonished doubt flashing across his face.

“It’s just as you suspect.”

“My cultivation… is crippled.”

Ye Chen didn’t deny it.

“What?”

Huo Wuji was aghast.

At the summit of Kunlun Mountain, he had personally witnessed Ye Chen unleash his divine power and fight against countless powerful foes.

Who could have imagined that such a prodigiously talented young man would fall to such a state?

Not only was his cultivation completely crippled, but he was also hiding away in a minor power like the Vermilion Bird Tribe, not daring to return to the Great Hong Dynasty.

Of course, Huo Wuji understood that Ye Chen was staying here to recover from his injuries.

But Ye Chen was, after all, without his cultivation.

If he returned to the Great Hong Dynasty and his arch-enemies learned that he was still alive, it would undoubtedly bring endless disaster upon him!

“Then… is there any chance of it recovering?” Huo Wuji asked.

“There is. And with the Huo family’s help, I’ll recover even faster.”

Ye Chen glanced at Huo Wuji and smiled.

Upon hearing this, Huo Wuji was stunned for a moment before breaking into a hearty laugh.

“With you saying that, young friend, I can rest easy!”

“You have done the Huo family a great service, young friend. Now that we know of your predicament, our family will certainly give you our full support. You need not doubt that!”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “Why don’t you simply come to the Huo family to recuperate?”

“To the Huo family?”

Ye Chen mused, “In the Black Triangle, there are plenty of major powers, no weaker than the Huo family, who want me dead. If I were to head to the Huo family’s territory, wouldn’t I be too conspicuous?”

At these words, Huo Wuji was rendered speechless.

He knew, of course, that Ye Chen had made enemies with many of the top powers in the Black Triangle.

This included the Xuanwu Tribe, one of the region’s top hegemons!

If Ye Chen’s identity were to be exposed, the entire Black Triangle Region would likely erupt in chaos!